They prayed for Radamel Falcao to make a miracle recovery from a ruptured cruciate and their prayers went unanswered. They voted for a president but the outcome was undecided, so must go to the polls again this weekend and observe a 48-hour alcohol ban required by electoral law. Colombians have had no alternative but to temper expectations for the World Cup. And that may suit José Pékerman to perfection.

The 64-year-old Argentinian has proven a fitting choice as coach of a country that has learned from past and occasionally brutal experience not to get ahead of itself on the international stage. His demeanour is set regularly to downbeat, although that may only be in the presence of the media, for whom he has little time, or any football federation official who dares interfere in his plans. He also knows from personal experience how quickly optimism and momentum can vanish at a World Cup having led Argentina as favourites in 2006 only to squander the initiative against Germany in the quarter-finals and exit on penalties, complete with a mass brawl.

Colombia need a coach who deals in reality and does it his way. That would be Pékerman. The country requires no reminder of 1994, when it fervently believed in victory for the team of Carlos Valderrama, Faustino Asprilla and Freddy Rincón. Pelé labelled them future world champions following a 5-0 defeat of Argentina in Buenos Aires, and they departed at the group stage amid rumours that drugs cartels had as much influence on team selection as coach Francisco Maturana. And defender Andrés Escobar returned home to a hail of bullets in Medellín. Pelé has been asked to keep his predictions to himself before this tournament in a polite YouTube video entitled “Pelé – Colombia No.”

The World Cup of 20 years ago was the bleakest, but not only, example of a gifted Colombia team freezing on a tournament stage. There has been frequent disappointment in the Copa América, with the exception of 2001’s success on home soil, and only one passage to the knock-out phase of a World Cup in four attempts. That came in 1990 when momentum was checked by surprise package Cameroon in the second round.

Brazil, though, could genuinely be different. Firstly, the draw for Group C has been kind, placing Pékerman’s team in a world test of the truest sense against Greece on Saturday in Belo Horizonteon Saturday, Ivory Coast on Thursday and finally Japan. Qualification for a second round tie against England, Italy, Uruguay or, who knows, Costa Rica is expected, although there is little talk of what might happen next. It would have been different had Falcao not sustained a serious knee injury playing for Monaco against Chasselay Monts d’Or Azergues in a French cup tie in January.

There is no disguising it. Falcao’s damaged left knee and failure to make an unlikely recovery for the World Cup has dealt a substantial blow to Colombia’s prospects. He was the country’s leading scorer in the qualifying campaign with nine goals and the focal point of the team. The World Cup is without one of the finest forwards in the game and Colombia its biggest star, one whose fame extends to promoting banks, Gillette, even the government’s anti-drugs campaign back home.

Pékerman called it “the saddest day I’ve had since becoming Colombia coach,” when announcing Falcao’s omission from his final 23-man squad on 2 June, flanked by the gracious striker plus two others who missed the cut, Luis Muriel and Luis Amaranto Perea. Yet it might also have been a release.

Pékerman was under intense pressure to take Falcao to Brazil, not only from supporters and media but from sponsors with a vested interest in a global star carrying their brand onto the biggest arena. The distraction of when, how or if an unfit leading man can partake rarely enhances a World Cup campaign and is no longer an issue for Colombia. Pékerman stood firm on his policy of selecting players with proven fitness, a resolve that will not have surprised the Colombian federation given their past dealings with the coach, and left the Falcao circus behind.

They are hardly bereft of options without him. Colombia’s attacking quartet for the World Cup consists of Jackson Martínez, top scorer in Portugal last season with Porto, albeit a player who has not always replicated that form for his country, River Plate’s imposing Teófilo Gutiérrez, Carlos Bacca, who enjoyed a fine season with Europa League winners Sevilla, and Adrián Ramos, whose exploits for Hertha Berlin last season have earned him an £8m transfer to Borussia Dortmund as a replacement for Bayern Munich-bound Robert Lewandowski. Colombia were not steered to Brazil by Falcao alone and will continue to be supplied by the striker’s supremely gifted Monaco team-mate, James Rodríguez, the attacking midfielder on who much depends.

Pékerman’s team are ranked eighth in the world. They were fifth until Fifa’s latest world order, factoring recent friendlies, was announced last week. The qualification campaign began modestly and cost Leonel Álvarez his job after less than 100 days in charge. Enter Pékerman, initially to resistance from some Colombian officials and supporters with an inherent dislike of Argentina’s historical influence over football in their country. The FA asked Pékerman to retain Álvarez on his coaching staff as a nod to national pride. The veteran said no and told the FA to reconsider their offer. They came back with a better one, they had little choice given the pressure to repair qualification for a World Cup in South America, and were repaid as Pékerman guided Colombia to second place in the group. His team qualified two points behind winners Argentina having conceded 13 goals in 16 matches, the fewest in the South American qualifying section.

Colombia arrive with a stylish, adventurous reputation. Perhaps too adventurous for Pékerman’s liking. “We are always looking to score but this sometimes costs us,” he said. “So we have to search for that famous balance.” Beyond the four strikers vying to lead the line in Falcao’s absence Los Cafeteros also have the Serie A duo of Fiorentina’s Juan Guillermo Cuadrado and Cagliari’s Víctor Ibarbo to increase their potency in the final third. The main concern before the tournament was Colombia’s defence, despite its miserly record in qualifying, where veterans Mario Yepes and Perea were the established centre-back pairing with a combined age of 73. Perea’s absence with a groin strain has eased the debate over a lack of pace and given Milan’s Cristián Zapata or River Plate’s highly-regarded Éder Álvarez Balanta an opportunity to commence a new era.

Yepes is 38 and intent on bringing his illustrious international career to an end after the World Cup but the captain is not the oldest member of Colombia’s squad. That mantle belongs to Faryd Mondragón, who turns 43 next Saturday and will replace Roger Milla as the oldest player to feature in a World Cup should anything untoward happen to first choice goalkeeper David Ospina.

Mondragón’s inclusion by Pékerman is significant for other reasons. The goalkeeper has been on the international stage since the 1992 Olympics and played in the Colombia team that failed to advance beyond the group stage at the World Cup in 1998, the last time they qualified. He and Yepes are a bridge to the past, the experienced voices Pékerman is relying on to guide team-mates through the pressures of Colombia’s first World Cup for 16 years. The coach is conscious of Colombia’s strained World Cup history and his back-room team features several psychologists. But he, and his solutions to the Falcao problem, hold the key.

This weekend Colombia faces a stark choice between a presidential candidate who wishes to continue peace talks with guerilla group Farc, Juan Manuel Santos, and one promising to stop them, Óscar Iván Zuluaga. But the country has already spoken. A banner appeared at the national team stadium in Barranquilla during qualification. It read; “Pékerman for President”.